Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Cash Holdings

authors

  • Ahsan Alias Sarang Aitzaz
  • Aubert Nicolas
  • Hollandts Xavier

keywords

  • Female Directors
  • Risk Propensity
  • Cash Holdings
  • Gender Quota

document type

ART

abstract

This study investigates the relationship between boardroom gender diversity and corporate cash holdings (i.e., liquidity risk) and excess cash holdings (i.e., agency risk). Using a sample of French firms listed on the SBF 120 index over the period 1998 to 2015, we find a significant positive relation of board gender diversity for two measures of corporate cash holdings (i.e., corporate cash ratio and industry adjusted cash ratio) and a negative relation with excess cash holdings. These results support that feminized boards are associated with lower liquidity and agency risk implying that women directors engage in stricter monitoring and disallow stockpiling beyond the optimal cash level. The study provides significant intermediate results in relation to the Copé-Zimmermann gender quota law that are robust to alternate specifications and tests.

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